I got the chance to meet a host of media personalities from Qatar and outside when I accepted an invitation from the Doha Centre for Media Freedom (DCMF) to attend a seminar on media freedoms last Thursday titled ‘Media Freedoms for Women in the Gulf’, held on the occasion of International Women’s Day.
The meeting that had an additional exceptional value impressed me: every Qatari who attended the event was a brainchild of Qatari media, regardless of any intervals.
Qatari media is strongly focused on its goals. These goals stand for the dreams and aspirations of our society. We have achieved many goals so far. Despite this, there is much to be achieved in the near future.
As a matter of fact, I enjoyed every second of the meeting. It managed to throw light on a wide range of the problems we suffer from, giving attendees the chance to suggest solutions.
The meeting was well-organised and coordinated. All supervisors, organisers and coordinators made their contribution, such as journalist Lamis Nasser, who paid attention to every guest and contributed to making the event memorable.
The guests were all media persons, some working for television networks, others for the print media, while some others were working in other electronic media. This variety enriched the friendly discussions and formed the basis for exchange of professional experiences and stories of success. The time was too short for all stories and experiences to be shared.
These stories, however, confirmed the need for similar seminars in future. Such gatherings give journalists the chance to meet, know each other, share experiences, strive to find solutions to challenges, and harness the energies of everybody working in this field.
The need to know one’s colleagues gives such gatherings additional value. We relate to our colleagues only formally, but we can achieve so much when we get together and unite. Our achievements will get a multiplier effect. Individual achievements barely make a difference compared with teamwork.
When I met with my media colleagues, I soon found that our aims were convergent, although some aims might be dominated by personal interests. This, in fact, is affected by the seriousness of each individual and the extent to which he/she is aware of the nature of what he/she is looking for.
Undoubtedly, teamwork will provide our society with a complete and full working environment that will heavily contribute to promoting and developing our society in ways that make it better.
The discussions that took place at the seminar were both rich and exciting, although talk on TV and radio eclipsed everything else, including print media, which has a value that cannot be ignored by any means.
Seminars should shed light on all media in order to create a complete state of mind that can be relied upon in the future.
I have the impression that somebody is pushing us into the trap of focusing on select topics. Unfortunately, print media operatives can only invite the attention of seminar organisers to the importance of the print media. Everybody works tooth and nail to cope with the fast pace of news.
Every pen has a lot in it. We are badly in need of time, but with perseverance and teamwork everything will be possible. It is important for everybody to know that development takes more than just one person to happen. This development needs each and every one of us. So, may Allah guide and help us.
I would like to thank media persons Lamis Nassar and Amal Abdul Malek and everybody else who brought us together with love to know more about each other and realise our goals. I would like to extend special thanks to Zahabiya Jabi.
